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solastsummer 
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 Topic: Chemistry issues
Posted: October 11 2010 at 12:02am |
My calcium is way high, over 500 and my total alk is low, at 2, should i dose alk and will that lower my calcium?
Also are there any homeade recipies for raising my PH? its pretty dang low and i need to raise it soon.
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SGH360
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Posted: October 11 2010 at 12:04am |
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do you know how long has it been like that? Baking soda will raise the ph. 500 Ca is not that bad just dont dose for a while until it lowers where you want it to be
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solastsummer
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Posted: October 11 2010 at 12:06am |
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since last time i tested which was exactly a week, corals were losing colors so i figured something would be up
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arthuriv
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Posted: October 11 2010 at 2:18am |
Here are Mark Peterson's recipes: Making and adding Alkalinity and Calcium to the reef aquarium
Alkalinity: 4 parts Baking soda and 1 part Soda
Ash/Washing Soda. Soda Ash is made by baking Baking Soda in a glass
baking dish at ~400 for an hour or so. Dissolve as much of this as will
dissolve in purified water, then add it regularly along with doing
Alkalinity testing to be sure of dosing the right amount. The desired
range is 8-14 dKH or it's equivalent in meq/l or ppm.
Calcium: Dissolve as much Calcium Chloride
(Peladow brand ice melt or CaCl2 from a chemical shop) as will dissolve
in purified water. Dose it separately from the Alkalinity additive.
Mixing the two together or adding them to the aquarium where they can
mix too soon is ineffective and forms solid Calcium Carbonate in a
chemical reaction typically described as "snowing". But dose
this Calcium additive on the same schedule as the Alkalinity, using an
amount based on the need as determined by Calcium testing. 350-450ppm is
the desired range.
Determining the correct amount to dose: For example, taking a
100 gal tank, I would start by testing the Alk and Ca levels. If either
are out of the desired range, I would add ~1/4 cup of the needed
component solution, then test the next day to see what difference it
made, if any. Then adjust the dosage accordingly, testing and watching
the levels daily (or weekly if you are lazy like me  ) until I had figured out about how much to add to replce what the tank is using.
Tip: Dosing at the same time as feeding, helps keep it fairly regular and consistent.
Tip: Reef aquariums can handle it if the dosage moderately exceeds
the levels of the desired range. Simply stop dosing for a few days and
let the tank take care of the extra through natural processes. If a
large amount is accidentally added (dang kids  ) a partial water change can help alleviate a problem. |
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: October 11 2010 at 2:46am |
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yes you can dose alk, this will lower your calcium though so be prepared to dose both. Also you will want to raise your alk SLOWLY over at least 24 hours. Otherwise you can cause a lot of harm.
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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badfinger
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Posted: October 11 2010 at 7:41am |
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I would make sure that your test kit is correct cause 500 cal is not way high... but 2 alk is way low.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: October 11 2010 at 10:06am |
I agree with what everyone posted, especially Arthur  <Edit> Wait, I just went back and saw that the number was given as 2, But no scale was given. If it's 2 meq/L that's not as bad as 2 dKH. 2 meq/L = 5.6 dKH. If that's it, then this is not as much of an emergency as I was thinking when I wrote the stuff below. <Edit> Alkalinity of 2 dKH is an actual Reef Emergency. Alk decreased to that point slowly over many months and the tank did okay with the slow decrease, but is an emergency now because any little problem in the tank could make everything die.Alkalinity can be raised 1 dKH per day without any bad effects. From 2 dKH it will take over a week to raise it where it should be, around 10. The range is 8-14 dKH. Just use Baking soda right now. You can make the baked baking soda mixture later. Do not go to the LFS. They do not know how to fix this problem as well as we do. You probably won't have to dose Calcium for several days. Ca can fall to 350 and still be okay. The updated range is 350-550 ppm. Do you have any Alk or Ca additives in your fish stuff? Let us know or call me and we can tell you which ones would be best to use. Also, don't mess with pH. It will rise as the Alk rises. And we can get into more stuff about pH after this Alk emergency is resolved. Please call me at the number below, because in this kind of emergency it's better to get immediate answers to any questions or concerns. I'll take the time to help you understand what's going on and how to correct it. 
Edited by Mark Peterson - October 11 2010 at 10:28am
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solastsummer
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Posted: October 13 2010 at 7:40am |
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OK so i tested again this morning, (i dont know if morning/night makes a difference) and my alk is at 2.5 meq/l my calcium is still sky high, but atleast my alk isnt as bad as i thought, my test kit works in meq/l so where should my alk be at as far as meq is concerened.
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solastsummer
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Posted: October 13 2010 at 7:46am |
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nm found a conversion table, so its 7dkh (i have been slowly dosing this week, so i add a little more of my mixture, which i did 1/3 soda ash to 1 and 1/3 baking soda in a half a gallon container and have been adding slightly under 1/4 a cup every other day as my tank is 60 gallons sumpless, i figure soon i should be in the good range, and hopfully i will see my corals color back up.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: October 13 2010 at 11:38am |
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3-5 meq/L is the Alk range, 4 being best
You should be testing each day to see how much Alk rises for the amount of solution you are adding.
Also test Ca because it may need to be supplemented soon.
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